Adventures in Bucharest: the World Senior Championship 2019

by Thorsten Cmiel
11/29/2019 – The World Senior Championships in Bucharest came to an end and with Vadim Shishkin (50+), Rafael Vaganian (65+), Elvira Berend (w50+), and Nona Gaprindashvili (w65+) the chess world now has four more World Champions. Thorsten Cmiel played in the 50+ Open and in his report talks about the tournament, what brilliancy prizes have to do with taste, and the dangers of taking a cab in Bucharest. | Photo: Rafael Vaganian | Tournament page | All other photos: Thorsten Cmiel

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World Senior Championship 2019

At the World Senior Championship in Bucharest Nona Gaprindashivili could add another title to her already impressive list of successes: she became Women's World Champion 65+. In the 50+ group — the "juniors" — reigning champion Elvira Berend defended her title without major problems.

The top three

Final standings w50+

Rk. Name Pts.  TB1 
1 Berend Elvira 8,5 0,0
2 Bogumil Tatiana 7,5 0,0
3 Strutinskaia Galina 7,0 0,0
4 Grabuzova Tatiana 7,0 0,0
5 Makropoulou Marina 7,0 0,0
6 Schleining Zoya 6,5 0,0
7 Ankudinova Yelena 6,5 0,0
8 Baliuniene Margarita 6,5 0,0
9 Jicman Ligia-Letitia 6,5 0,0
10 Kasoshvili Tsiala 6,5 0,0
11 Sirotkina Nina 6,0 0,0
12 Birkholz Olga 6,0 0,0
13 Sheremetieva Marina 6,0 0,0
14 Krasenkova Ilena 5,5 0,0
15 Wagner-Michel Annett 5,5 0,0
16 Khropova Larisa 5,5 0,0
17 Milligan Helen 5,5 0,0
18 Adoamnei Roxana-Antonela 5,5 0,0
19 Radu Eudochia 2,5 0,5
20 Heid Magdalene 2,5 0,5
21 Monastyrenko Nataliya 1,0 0,0

Games w50+

 
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1.e41,170,31954%2421---
1.d4949,86755%2434---
1.Nf3282,62856%2440---
1.c4182,73156%2442---
1.g319,74556%2427---
1.b314,34754%2427---
1.f45,91748%2377---
1.Nc33,81651%2384---
1.b41,75948%2379---
1.a31,22254%2404---
1.e31,07349%2409---
1.d395550%2378---
1.g466646%2361---
1.h444953%2374---
1.c343551%2426---
1.h328356%2419---
1.a411460%2465---
1.f39346%2435---
1.Nh39066%2505---
1.Na34262%2482---
1.e4 0 c5 0 2.Nf3 0 d6 22 3.Bb5+ 0 Bd7 1:30 4.Bxd7+ 0 Qxd7 5 5.c4 1:40 Nc6 1:22 6.0-0 6 g6 1:28 7.d4 34 cxd4 12 8.Nxd4 5 Bg7 6 9.Be3 2:06 Nf6 13 10.f3 25 0-0 9 11.Nc3 30 Qd8 3:11 12.Qd2 6:15 Nd7 4:25 13.Rac1 4:59 a6 9:29 14.b3 4:24 Rb8 2:49 15.Nd5 13:40 Nde5 15:02 16.Rfd1 5:55 Re8 2:47 17.h3 4:18 Nd7 12:38 18.a3 6:05 Nc5 7:16 19.Qc2 5:18 Nxd4 2:13 20.Bxd4 7 Bxd4+ 11 21.Rxd4 9 e6 24 22.Ne3 3:50 Qb6 2:37 23.Rb1 9:14 Nd7 6:03 24.Qd2 2:12 Ne5 8:21 25.Rxd6 28 Nxc4 12:12 26.Rxb6 1:29 Nxd2 5 27.Rb2 1:36 Red8 6 28.Kf2 26 Rd4 2:08 29.Ke2 10 Rbd8 4 30.Rxb7 19 f5 7 31.e5 42 g5 50 32.Re7 44 Rd3 1:41 33.Rxe6 3:10 Nxb3 18 34.Nxf5 35 Rc3 1:32 35.Rd6 2:44 Re8 24 36.e6 28 Na5 1:16 37.e7 2:56 Nc6 38 38.Rb7 2:26 Rc5 32 39.g4 25 Re5+ 31 40.Kf2 0 Nxe7 0 41.Ng3 6:07 Rc8 14:41 42.Ne4 1:17 a5 3:24 43.Rdd7 50 Kf8 59 44.Nxg5 3:51 Rc2+ 20 45.Kg3 6 h6 8:09 46.Ne4 33 Ra2 21 47.Nd6 5:15 Ree2 2:21 48.Rd8+ 2:51 Kg7 6 49.Nf5+ 7 Kf6 22 50.Rf8+ 1:00 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Jicman,L2070Berend,E23491–02019B52WSCC W50 20191.5
Schleining,Z2344Ankudinova,Y20510–12019D55WSCC W50 20191.6
Kasoshvili,T2033Grabuzova,T2289½–½2019A92WSCC W50 20191.7
Krasenkova,I2231Khropova,L20221–02019A45WSCC W50 20191.8

The winners w65+

Final standings w65+

k. SNo     Name FED Rtg Pts.  TB1   TB2   TB3 
1 1
 
GM Gaprindashvili Nona GEO 2275 8,5 0,0 64,5 67,0
2 2
 
WGM Fatalibekova Elena RUS 2152 8,0 0,5 65,0 67,5
3 4
 
WGM Kozlovskaya Valentina RUS 2130 8,0 0,5 62,5 65,0
4 7
 
WIM Tsifanskaya Ludmila A ISR 1981 7,5 0,0 58,5 59,5
5 5
 
WIM Burchardt Brigitte GER 2082 7,0 1,0 65,5 66,5
6 6
 
WIM Sorokina Tamara RUS 2064 7,0 1,0 61,5 62,5
7 10
 
  Pancu Aureliana-Eugenia ROU 1833 7,0 1,0 61,0 62,0
8 3
 
WIM Titorenko Natalia I RUS 2135 6,5 0,5 63,0 65,5
9 9
 
WFM Dotan Valeria ISR 1873 6,5 0,5 58,5 59,5
10 11
 
  Bujinlkham Purevdorj MGL 1794 5,5 0,0 55,5 56,5
11 8
 
  Serjmyadag Damdin MGL 1874 5,0 0,0 55,0 56,0
12 13
 
  Abdikasova Panu KAZ 1563 4,0 0,0 52,0 53,0
13 14
 
  Hrivnakova Anna SVK 1548 3,0 1,0 58,0 59,0
14 15
 
  Gandelman Ita ISR 1525 3,0 0,0 53,0 54,0
15 12
 
  Hoose Hannelore GER 1654 1,5 0,0 52,0 54,5

Games w65+

 
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1.e4 0 b6 0 2.d4 19 Bb7 0 3.Nc3 1:12 e6 0 4.Bd3 2:09 g6 40 5.Nf3 2:48 Bg7 16 6.Be3 1:54 Ne7 2:02 7.Qd2 2:56 h6 34 8.Ne2 6:38 d5 5:29 9.e5 2:14 Nf5 2:17 10.Bxf5 5:04 gxf5 2:26 11.Nf4 1:30 Nd7 19 12.Nh5 4:25 Bf8 16 13.h3 9:02 Qe7 14:47 14.Bf4 5:29 c5 5:21 15.c3 2:59 cxd4 5:16 16.Qxd4 5:10 Qc5 3:58 17.0-0-0 4:29 0-0-0 1:41 18.Kb1 1:17 Ba6 2:17 19.Qd2 1:14 Be7 5:02 20.Rhe1 3:18 Rdg8 41 21.Rg1 4:37 Kb7 1:11 22.Nd4 2:19 Bg5 50 23.Rde1 4:33 Qc7 4:45 24.Nf3 58 Qc4 2:00 25.g4 6:05 fxg4 1:13 26.hxg4 11 Nc5 8:22 27.Nxg5 7:22 hxg5 28 28.Be3 50 Nd3 1:52 29.Bd4 7:05 Nxe1 19 30.Qxe1 11 Qe2 1:24 31.Kc1 58 Rg6 45 32.Be3 1:54 Bd3 20 33.Qd2 16 Bc4 55 34.b3 55 Bd3 1:22 35.Ng3 1:26 Qxd2+ 1:20 36.Kxd2 7 Bb5 59 37.Nh5 28 a5 55 38.f3 1:20 Bc6 2:29 39.Bd4 59 Ra8 2:00 40.Ke3 0 a4 0 41.b4 2:12 a3 1:24 42.f4 2:33 gxf4+ 1:14 43.Kxf4 1:15 Bb5 54 44.Rg2 2:41 Bc4 49 45.Nf6 55 Rh8 1:35 46.Kg3 9:03 Kc6 2:12 47.Kf4 2:08 Rh1 1:17 48.Bg1 1:23 Rgh6 3:17 49.Nh5 5:08 Bf1 5:11 50.Rg3 1:10 Be2 32 51.Nf6 4:29 R6h3 55 52.Rxh3 3:08 Rxh3 32 53.Bd4 43 Bc4 45 54.Kg5 1:19 Bxa2 1:06 55.Ne8 58 Bc4 44 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Serjmyadag,D1874Gaprindashvili,N22750–12019B00WSCC W65 20191.1
Fatalibekova,E2152Dotan,V1873½–½2019B96WSCC W65 20191.2
Pancu,A1833Titorenko,N2135½–½2019A05WSCC W65 20191.3
Kozlovskaya,V2130Bujinlkham,P17941–02019D37WSCC W65 20191.4

In the Open 65+ things were more exciting. Three players finished with 8½/11 and Rafael Vaganian won on tie-break. However, Carlos Garcia Palermo, who finished fourth but had a better tie-break than Vaganian, only narrowly missed the title. In the final round Garcia Palermo had good chances to win against Evgeny Sveshnikov but failed to convert his advantage.

Final standings 65+ (Top 20)

Rk. Name Pts.  TB1 
1 Vaganian Rafael A 8,5 0,0
2 Vaisser Anatoli 8,5 0,0
3 Balashov Yuri S 8,5 0,0
4 Garcia Palermo Carlos 8,0 0,0
5 Sveshnikov Evgeny 8,0 0,0
6 Kalegin Evgenij 8,0 0,0
7 Maryasin Boris 8,0 0,0
8 Okhotnik Vladimir 8,0 0,0
9 Stepovoj Vladimir 8,0 0,0
10 Jansa Vlastimil 8,0 0,0
11 Fernandez Garcia Jose Luis 7,5 0,0
12 Birnboim Nathan 7,5 0,0
13 Mochalov Evgeny V 7,5 0,0
14 Van Riemsdijk Herman C. 7,5 0,0
15 Kristiansen Jens 7,5 0,0
16 Shirazi Kamran 7,5 0,0
17 Shevelev Arkady 7,5 0,0
18 Berkovich Mark A 7,5 0,0
19 Renman Nils-Gustaf 7,5 0,0
20 Karason Askell O 7,0 0,0

The winners 65+

Games 65+

 
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1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.exd5 Nxd5 4.Bc4 Nb6 5.Bb3 Nc6 6.Nf3 Bf5 7.d3 e6 8.0-0 Bg4 B02: Alekhine's Defence: Chase Variation and lines with early Nc3 8...Be7 9.Ne4 0-0 10.Be3 Na5 11.Qe1 Nxb3 12.axb3 ½-½ (12) Haag,G (1991)-Haase,R (2085) Erfurt 2016 9.d4N       Loss on time!? Predecessor: 9.h3 Bh5 10.g4 Bg6 11.Re1 Be7 12.a4 a5 13.Bf4 0-0 14.Nb5 Rc8 15.Qe2 Bf6 16.Rad1 ½-½ (46) Unal,O (1807)-Akdogan,A (1951) Manavgat 2015 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Candea,G2005Vaganian,R25140–12019B02WSCC M65 20191.33
Vaisser,A2497Miulescu,G2004½–½2019D85WSCC M65 20191.34
Syzdykov,S2004Sveshnikov,E24850–12019D43WSCC M65 20191.35
Balashov,Y2457Zhelesny,S20031–02019B10WSCC M65 20191.36
Alquist,E2003Jansa,V24361–02019B45WSCC M65 20191.37
Kalegin,E2431Hjertenes,O20011–02019B06WSCC M65 20191.38
Carlsten,P2000Garcia Palermo,C24210–12019B18WSCC M65 20191.39
Kristiansen,J2411Buxade Roca,G19951–02019A04WSCC M65 20191.40
Melkeraen,T1991Chevelevitch,E24110–12019A01WSCC M65 20191.41
Fernandez Garcia,J2404Bauner,J19891–02019B15WSCC M65 20191.42
Ciuro Munoz,R1989Birnboim,N23970–12019B06WSCC M65 20191.43
Mochalov,E2374Dumitrascu,C19851–02019E09WSCC M65 20191.44
Valenti,G1982Bogdanov,V2350½–½2019B05WSCC M65 20191.45
Shirazi,K2349Olesen,P19781–02019B06WSCC M65 20191.46
Spulber,C1973Okhotnik,V23460–12019A29WSCC M65 20191.47
Berkovich,M2336Ladisic,A19721–02019A46WSCC M65 20191.48
Bondar,L1971Renman,N23310–12019C09WSCC M65 20191.49
Povah,N2314Myall,I19711–02019A45WSCC M65 20191.50
Coll Sola,J1965Maryasin,B23011–02019A35WSCC M65 20191.51
Shevelev,A2282Green,P19581–02019B47WSCC M65 20191.52
Khazankin,M1954Caturla,C2276½–½2019B34WSCC M65 20191.53
Rooze,J2272Taksrud,V19541–02019B01WSCC M65 20191.54
James,K1953Karason,A22710–12019E20WSCC M65 20191.55
Afek,Y2257Stojkovic,A19511–02019B29WSCC M65 20191.56
Blaushtain,B1947Geller,A2253½–½2019D32WSCC M65 20191.57

The 50+ Open was decided by points, not by tie-break. After 11 rounds GM Vadim Shishkin was clear first with 9.0/11.

Final standings 50+ (Top 20)

Rk. Name Pts.  TB1 
1 Shishkin Vadim 9,0 0,0
2 Nevednichy Vladislav 8,5 0,5
3 Morovic Fernandez Ivan 8,5 0,5
4 Movsziszian Karen 8,0 0,0
5 Marin Mihail 7,5 0,0
6 Georgiev Kiril 7,5 0,0
7 Soffer Ram 7,5 0,0
8 Young Angelo 7,5 0,0
9 Lima Darcy 7,5 0,0
10 Bagaturov Giorgi 7,5 0,0
11 Sturua Zurab 7,5 0,0
12 Managadze Nikoloz 7,5 0,0
13 Pavlovic Milos 7,5 0,0
14 Yermolinsky Alex 7,5 0,0
15 Psakhis Lev 7,5 0,0
16 Badea Bela 7,5 0,0
17 Shabalov Alexander 7,5 0,0
18 Godena Michele 7,0 0,0
19 Mannion Stephen R 7,0 0,0
20 Rinas Oleg 7,0 0,0

Winners 50+

Games Open 50+

 
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1.e41,170,31954%2421---
1.d4949,86755%2434---
1.Nf3282,62856%2440---
1.c4182,73156%2442---
1.g319,74556%2427---
1.b314,34754%2427---
1.f45,91748%2377---
1.Nc33,81651%2384---
1.b41,75948%2379---
1.a31,22254%2404---
1.e31,07349%2409---
1.d395550%2378---
1.g466646%2361---
1.h444953%2374---
1.c343551%2426---
1.h328356%2419---
1.a411460%2465---
1.f39346%2435---
1.Nh39066%2505---
1.Na34262%2482---
1.Nf3 0 Nf6 0 2.c4 0 c5 0 3.Nc3 5 g6 0 4.d4 11 cxd4 0 5.Nxd4 7 Nc6 0 6.Nc2 13 Bg7 11 7.e4 5 d6 20 8.Be2 7 0-0 9 9.0-0 10 Nd7 33 10.Bd2 14 Nc5 33 11.f3 43 a5 3:31 12.Be3 5:09 f5 2:57 13.exf5 1:05 gxf5 8:42 14.Qd2 1:00 a4 7:30 15.Na3 3:04 Qa5 9:20 16.Rfd1 11:36 Be6 13:46 17.Rab1 4:20 Kh8 12:13 18.Kh1 1:08 Rac8 14:59 19.Bh6 3:51 Bxh6 2:53 20.Qxh6 18 f4 7:03 21.Qh4 7:10 Rf6 1:22 22.Rxd6 1:55 Rcf8 6:41 23.Rd2 1:21 Bf5 4:42 24.Rbd1 1:05 e6 1:48 25.Nab5 1:28 Ne5 1:41 26.Rd8 5:11 Ng6 1:12 27.Qxf6+ 17 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Georgiev,K2582Gavrish,L20771–02019A05WSCC M50 20191.9
Gayson,P2075Lima,D25401–02019B03WSCC M50 20191.10
Sturua,Z2540Cmiel,T20681–02019A31WSCC M50 20191.11
Moise,O2068Shabalov,A2528½–½2019A57WSCC M50 20191.12
Marin,M2521Belmont Hernandez,A20661–02019A15WSCC M50 20191.13
Sielicki,T2066Nevednichy,V25180–12019A45WSCC M50 20191.14
Morovic Fernandez,I2505Mitrandzas,A20651–02019A04WSCC M50 20191.15
Robertson,I2062Yermolinsky,A24980–12019B45WSCC M50 20191.16
Dvoirys,S2490Goater,K20610–12019B15WSCC M50 20191.17
Filipovich,D2050Minasian,A2486½–½2019A37WSCC M50 20191.18
Soffer,R2485Cetinkaya,V20461–02019B10WSCC M50 20191.19
Minescu,D2046Pavlovic,M24820–12019A10WSCC M50 20191.20
Movsziszian,K2470Smith,P20441–02019A00WSCC M50 20191.21
Telea,S2028Psakhis,L24610–12019A04WSCC M50 20191.22
Managadze,N2450Sabah,I20191–02019A30WSCC M50 20191.23
Pogosian,V2017Godena,M24490–12019C51WSCC M50 20191.24
Shishkin,V2428Breitkopf,F20161–02019A41WSCC M50 20191.25
Baimurzin,A1995Antonio,R2427½–½2019A04WSCC M50 20191.26
Bagaturov,G2423Brown,S19911–02019D38WSCC M50 20191.27
Martinez Lopez,J1985Badea,B24200–12019A41WSCC M50 20191.28
Rinas,O2420Craciun,O19531–02019C68WSCC M50 20191.29
Lopez De Turiso,J1947Vareille,F24170–12019E68WSCC M50 20191.30
Van Der Werf,M2401Gebhardt,U19431–02019A42WSCC M50 20191.31
Kainz,J1937Akesson,R23760–12019A40WSCC M50 20191.32

The brilliancy prize

The brilliancy prize in Bucharest was named after Viktor Kupreichik (3 July 1949 – 22 May 2017) to honour the attacking skills of the Belorussian Grandmaster. However, brilliancy prizes are a matter of taste. In Bucharest, it went to Mihail Marin for his convincing win against Milos Pavlovic.

 
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1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.Nc3 0-0 5.e4 c5 6.Nge2 Nc6 7.0-0 a6 8.d3 Rb8 9.a4 d6 10.h3 Ne8 11.Be3 Nc7 12.d4 b6 13.d5 Ne5 14.b3 b5 15.f4 Nd7 16.a5 b4 17.Na4 White offers an exchange and Black accepts the challenge. Bxa1 18.Qxa1 e5? 18...Ne8!? with an attack against a5 offered better defensive chances. 19.fxe5 Nxe5 20.Bxc5 Ne8 21.Bd4 f6 22.Nb6 Rb7 23.Qe1 Re7 24.Nf4 Ng7 25.Qxb4 White has managed to increase the pressure and with two pawns for the exchange material is about even. g5 26.Ne2 g4 27.Nf4 gxh3 28.Nxc8 hxg2 28...Qxc8 29.Bxh3 29.Nxe7+ Qxe7 30.Kxg2 f5 31.Qe1 31.c5!? 31...fxe4 32.Qxe4 Qg5 33.Bxe5 dxe5 34.Nh3 Qd2+ 35.Rf2 Rxf2+ 36.Nxf2 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Marin,M2521Pavlovic,M24821–02019A3650+ World Senior Championship9

However, I think Kupreichik would have given the prize to the Indian Prasad Devaki for his game against Sergei Ivanov. In this game the Indian showed courage and intuition to overcome the defence of his opponent.

 
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21.N4xf5?! Here, White was already in time-trouble but this did not stop him from playing creatively. However, 21.g4!? was a good and more solid alternative. bxc3 22.gxf5 22.b3!? Nf6 23.gxf5 22...exf5 21...exf5
22.Rxe7! Kxe7 23.Bg5+ Bf6? 23...Kf8?? 24.Qxd5 23...Nf6! 24.Qxd5 Be6 25.Re1 Kf8! 24.Re1+ Be6!
24...Kd6? 25.c4! 25.Bxf5? Better was 25.Nxf5+! Kf7 25...gxf5 26.Qxh5 26.Nh6+ Kg7 27.Bxf6+ Nxf6 28.Rxe6± 25...gxf5?? 25...Rb6! would have stabilized Black's position adequately. 26.Qxh5 Rf8
27.Nxf5+? 27.Ng8+! Rxg8 28.Qxh7+ Kd8 29.Bxf6+ Kc8 30.Qxc7+ Kxc7 31.Rxe6-+ 27...Kd7 28.Bf4 Qc6 29.Qxh7+ Rf7 30.Qg6! Raf8 31.Nd6? 31.Bh6! and White is fine. 31...Re7? Better was 31...Rg7 with an advantage for Black. 32.Bh6! Rg8 33.Qxf6 Qxd6 34.Bf4 Qc6 Correct was 34...Qb6! ... and the game shows why. 35.cxb4 Rf7 36.Qe5 Rf5 37.Qe3 Rc8?
37...Rgf8 and the engines think that both sides have about equal chances. 38.b5! Qb6 39.a4! Suddenly White is in charge again. Re8
39...Rf6± offered more stubborn resistance. 40.Rc1! Reaching the time control and threatening 41.Rc6. Rc8 40...Bf7 41.Qd2 Re4 42.Qc3 Rfxf4 43.Qc8+ Ke7 44.Rc7+ Kf6 45.Rc6+ 41.Rxc8 Now White is winning. Kxc8
42.a5! Qxb5 43.Qxe6+ Qd7 44.Qa6+ Qb7 45.Qd6 Rf7 46.a6 Qb5 47.h4 Rd7 48.Qe6 Qb6 49.Qe5 Rd8 50.h5
1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Prasad,D2226Ivanov,S21381–0201950+ World Senior Championship8

Touristic adventures

As the playing venue was on the edge of town but felt to be in the middle of nowhere, you had to take a taxi if you wanted to go to town. This was a relatively short ride and usually cost about four to five euros. However, the way back to the hotel often turned out to be more tricky as the prizes for the cab rides varied wildly and some drivers asked four or five times as much as for the way to town, often without starting the meter or manipulating it. Taking the bus or the metro was less expensive but also not without risks as the wife of a player had to find out: when she arrived at her destination she realized that pickpockets had stolen her wallet.

The arbiters

The arbiters in Romania often spoke hardly any English which sometimes led to problems. And the main arbiters was part of one of the most bizarre occurrences I have ever seen at a chess tournament. In a game between two grandmasters the players were coming close to move sixty and one of the arbiters gave both players a now score sheet because the original score sheet had only room for 60 moves. But when he saw that the players had not yet reached move 60 the main arbiter had the somewhat surprising idea to get hold of the new scoresheets. One of the grandmasters who had less than two minutes on the clock tried to defend the scoresheet which he knew he would need soon. But he main arbiter did not let go of the sheet. The grandmaster looked at the arbiter, made a short gesture of despair and gave up the ridiculous fight.

A little later, after White had made his 60th move, the main arbiter gave White a new score sheet, and after Black had made his 60th move, he did the same.

Another incident involved honorary FIDE Vice President Ian Wilkinson, a lawyer and King's Counsel by profession.

Ian Wilkinson

Wilkinson was playing against an International Master and saw that the digital clock was not working properly. An arbiter had to come, stop the clock and readjust it. Wilkinson's opponent was to move and had little time left on the clock. Understandably, Wilkinson asked his opponent to leave the board while the clock was adjusted. However, the International Master refused to do so and the arbiter saw no reason to intervene.

The attractivness of the World Senior Championships

The FIDE has massively increased the prize fund for the World Senior Championships which attracted a number of strong players. After initial plans to play the Championships in a far removed town — which would have been an entirely unattractive venue — the organizers decided to stage the tournament in Bucharest and let all participants stay in the players' hotel. Which had advantages and disadvantages. A lot of participants would have preferred to stay in a more lively area. Moreover, having breakfast, lunch and dinner at a middle-class hotel for almost 14 days in a row is also not to everybody's taste.

The next World Senior Championships will be played in Assisi (Italy) in 2020. Probably, there will be no hotel for all players and the participants will be able to pick a hotel of their choice.

And in his speech at the winner's ceremony Ian Wilkinson promised even more improvements for coming World Senior Championships.

Translation from German: Johannes Fischer

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Thorsten Cmiel is FIDE Master, lives in Cologne and Milano and works as a freelance finance journalist.

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